We plan to create a world-leading, multidisciplinary, UK Structural Ceramics Centre to underpin research and development of these highly complex materials. Structural ceramics are surprisingly ubiquitous not only in obvious traditional applications (whitewares, gypsum plaster, house bricks, furnace refractories, dental porcelains and hip/knee prostheses) but in hidden applications where their electrical behaviour is also important such as in computers, mobile phones, DVDs etc. Structural ceramics are enabling materials which underpin many key areas of the economy including: energy generation, environmental clean-up, aerospace and defence, transport and healthcare. Key areas where important developments can be made in energy generation include ceramics for plutonium immobilisation and for next generation nuclear reactor fuels, for ion conductors in solid oxide fuel cells, and for storage of hydrogen for the projected hydrogen economy. Porous ceramics need to be developed for heavy metal and radionuclide capturing filters to help with environmental remediation of soil, air and water and for storage of carbon captured from burning fossil fuels. The next generation of space shuttles and other military aircraft will rely on ceramic and composite thermal protection systems operating at over 2000C. Ceramic coatings on turbine blades in aircraft enable them to function at temperatures above the melting point of the metals alloys from which they are mostly made, and improved ceramics capable of operation at even higher temperatures will confer improved fuel efficiency with environmental benefits. Our troops need improved personal body & vehicle armour to operate safely in troubled areas and the latest generation of armour materials will use ceramic laminate systems but improvements always need to be made in this field. Ceramic are used increasingly for bone and tooth replacement with the latest materials having the ability to allow natural bone ingrowth and with mechanical properties close to natural bone. It is clear the improved understanding of the mechanical behaviour of ceramics, better and simpler processing and the ability to model structure-processing-property relations over many length scales will lead to significant benefit not just to the UK but to mankind. Our aim is to combine the capabilities of two internationally-leading Departments at Imperial College London (Materials and Mechanical Engineering) to form the Centre of Excellence. The Centre will act as a focal point for UK research on structural ceramics but will encourage industrial and university partners to participate in UK and international R&D programmes. 51 companies and universities have already expressed the wish to be involved with promised in-kind support at over 900K. Research activities will be developed in three key areas: -Measurement of mechanical properties and their evolution in extreme environments such as high temperatures, demanding chemical environments, severe wear and impact conditions and combinations of these.-High Temperature Processing and Fabrication. In particular, there is a need for novel approaches for materials which are difficult to process such as borides, carbides, nitrides, materials with compositional gradients and ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). -Modelling of the time-dependence of deformation and fracture of ceramics to predict the useful lifetime of components. The modelling techniques will vary from treating the material as a homogeneous block down to describing the atomic nature of the materials and links between these approaches will be established.In addition to providing the funding that will enable us to create the nucleus from which the centre can grow, mutually beneficial relations with industry, universities and research centres in the UK and abroad will be developed to ensure that a large group of researchers will remain active long after the period for which funding is sought will have ended.

The broad theme areas are Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, and the training will be interdisciplinary based on the skills and experience of the partners which range from Chemical Engineering (Prof Kendall), Chemistry (Prof Schroeder and Dr Anderson), Materials Science (Dr Book), Economics (Prof Green), Bioscience (Prof Macaskie), Applications (Dr Walker), Automotive and Aeronautics (Prof Thring) and Policy/Regulation (Prof Weyman-Jones). Training will also include industry supervision with the 23 companies which have signed up and overseas training with FZJ in Germany and University of Central Florida in the USA.There is an increasing demand for skilled staff in the field of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, which at present has no dedicated UK centre for training, disseminating and co-ordinating with government bodies, industry and the public. This contrasts with the establishment of Forschungszentrum Julich (FZJ) in Germany, ECN in the Netherlands, and Risoe Laboratory in Denmark. Large companies such as Johnson Matthey, Rolls Royce and Air Products have substantial hydrogen and fuel cell projects, with hundreds of employed PhD level scientists and engineers. Recruitment has been a problem in recent years since only a handful of British universities carry out research in this area. But, most significantly, a large amount of private sector investment has now been injected, especially on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London, such that support to SMEs such as Ceres Power, Intelligent Energy, Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, ITM, CMR and Voller has risen to several hundred million pounds, requiring hundreds of PhD recruits. Also, since the Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) has now been established in Europe, this 1bn Euro project will add to the very large research funding by organisations such as Siemens, GM, Renault, Ford, FZJ, EADS, CEA, Risoe, ECN etc. Several large centres for research and training exist in Europe, the USA and Japan and it is imperative that Britain increases its student output to keep pace.

The CDT proposal 'Fuel Cells and their Fuels - Clean Power for the 21st Century' is a focused and structured programme to train >52 students within 9 years in basic principles of the subject and guide them in conducting their PhD theses. This initiative answers the need for developing the human resources well before the demand for trained and experienced engineering and scientific staff begins to strongly increase towards the end of this decade. Market introduction of fuel cell products is expected from 2015 and the requirement for effort in developing robust and cost effective products will grow in parallel with market entry. The consortium consists of the Universities of Birmingham (lead), Nottingham, Loughborough, Imperial College and University College of London. Ulster University is added as a partner in developing teaching modules. The six Centre directors and the 60+ supervisor group have an excellent background of scientific and teaching expertise and are well established in national and international projects and Fuel Cell, Hydrogen and other fuel processing research and development. The Centre programme consists of seven compulsory taught modules worth 70 credit points, covering the four basic introduction modules to Fuel Cell and Hydrogen technologies and one on Safety issues, plus two business-oriented modules which were designed according to suggestions from industry partners. Further - optional - modules worth 50 credits cover the more specialised aspects of Fuel Cell and fuel processing technologies, but also include socio-economic topics and further modules on business skills that are invaluable in preparing students for their careers in industry. The programme covers the following topics out of which the individual students will select their area of specialisation: - electrochemistry, modelling, catalysis; - materials and components for low temperature fuel cells (PEFC, 80 and 120 -130 degC), and for high temperature fuel cells (SOFC) operating at 500 to 800 degC; - design, components, optimisation and control for low and high temperature fuel cell systems; including direct use of hydrocarbons in fuel cells, fuel processing and handling of fuel impurities; integration of hydrogen systems including hybrid fuel-cell-battery and gas turbine systems; optimisation, control design and modelling; integration of renewable energies into energy systems using hydrogen as a stabilising vector; - hydrogen production from fossil fuels and carbon-neutral feedstock, biological processes, and by photochemistry; hydrogen storage, and purification; development of low and high temperature electrolysers; - analysis of degradation phenomena at various scales (nano-scale in functional layers up to systems level), including the development of accelerated testing procedures; - socio-economic and cross-cutting issues: public health, public acceptance, economics, market introduction; system studies on the benefits of FCH technologies to national and international energy supply. The training programme can build on the vast investments made by the participating universities in the past and facilitated by EPSRC, EU, industry and private funds. The laboratory infrastructure is up to date and fully enables the work of the student cohort. Industry funding is used to complement the EPSRC funding and add studentships on top of the envisaged 52 placements. The Centre will emphasise the importance of networking and exchange of information across the scientific and engineering field and thus interacts strongly with the EPSRC-SUPERGEN Hub in Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, thus integrating the other UK universities active in this research area, and also encourage exchanges with other European and international training initiatives. The modules will be accessible to professionals from the interacting industry in order to foster exchange of students with their peers in industry.